A conferencing system comprises a central unit, connected with several delegate units for the participating delegates. The central unit serves to combine audio channels of various delegate units and to distribute the received audio and data channel and combinations of these channels.
A team of interpreters provides translation for the conference participants. This typically takes the form of simultaneous interpretation. Interpreters usually have a so-called ‘interpreter desk’ to assist them in performing their work. This unit provides an interface that allows the interpreter to select the incoming language of their choice as well as the language into which they will be interpreting. The language out of which the interpreter interprets is referred to as the ‘relay language’. For this purpose, the interpreter desk includes a number of relay buttons, often equipped with an LED indicator. These buttons can be easily programmed when going through the list of available languages. The interpreter desk contains a display, for example an LCD display, on which relevant information can be shown (for example, quality of the relay languages, output channels or other additional information).
A special input channel is the floor channel of the conferencing system, i.e., the language that is being spoken on the conference floor at that moment. If this is a language that the interpreter does not master, the interpreter will be unable to directly use the floor channel signal. The interpreter then has to rely on a translation of the language of the floor channel. In addition to, for example, an indication of the incoming languages, a relevant part of information for the interpreter may contain an indication of the translation quality. This is usually done using a qualifier, such as, +, ++, +++ or FL, −1, −2; where ‘FL’ stands for ‘floor language’, i.e., the language that is being spoken on the conference floor at that moment. In this way, it is possible for interpreters to distinguish between direct and indirect translation and indirect translations can easily be avoided as much as possible.
The present invention more specifically relates to the selection of the relay channel, i.e. the channel out of which the interpreter will be translating. In an interpreter desk in accordance with the prior art, this is done by means of an interface to a number of relay channels (typically ranging between five and seven channels), which are configurable via programming by an operator or by the interpreter him or herself.
In JP2006/268561 a system is described for interpreter management. It includes a web server, an application server suitable for interpreting activities, a mail server for transmission/reception of an email, a multimedia server, an information terminal of a user of the system, an information terminal of an interpreter, an information terminal in a business to which the user belongs, an information terminal in an interpreting company to which the interpreter belongs and an information terminal in a company that handles the management of the system. The respective system components are connected via a communication network.
US2009/089042 discusses a computer system with one or more interfaces that allow communication with one or more communication devices. A first database is stored in a memory that links geographic regions with the most commonly spoken language or languages of those regions. A second database links interpreters with different languages and a third database includes demographic data of persons who previously registered with the service and includes, for example, telephone numbers and languages spoken. When a request is received, the computer system checks in the third database which languages the requestor masters, determines a geographic region linked to the relevant communication device and a language of that region as indicated in the first database. By means of the second database, an appropriate interpreter is chosen who speaks both the language of the region and one of the languages spoken by the participant.
In US2014/156254 a solution for conducting a conference between a multitude of geographically dispersed participants whereby simultaneous interpretation in a plurality of languages and automatic floor control is applied, is presented. An audio bridge is established for each of the languages. Each participant connects to a bridge through a network based upon a preferred language. The interpreter is connected to a first and second bridge, whereby the interpreter listens via a first bridge and speaks a translation in the second channel. The audio connections are configured automatically according to the language being spoken and the abilities of the interpreters.
There is therefore a need for an improved interpreter desk that offers the possibility to automatically choose the language which needs to be interpreted.